#jensaarai

Reimagined Jensaarai as Jedi influenced by the Sith, but not Sith as in fascist Darksider but Sith as in the species from Moribrand/Korriban(called Purebloods, but I don't really fuck with that term).

I'm imagining them as a New Sith Wars/Post-Ruusan order founded by a Moribrandian Sith who was part of the Jedi order, but wanted to salvage what they could of Moribrand's indigenous Force Traditions, which had been twisted by the Sith (darksiders). They adopted a philosophy of stoicism, passion from compassion and vice versa, their philosophy somewhat resembling that of users of Vaapad, with fear and anger tools to be used as much they were things to be dealt with and rejected.

Their relationship with the Jedi was largely cordial, though the Jedi objected strenuously to the (admittedly rare) Jensaarai practice of ritualistically bleeding then purifying their Lightsaber Crystals to symbolically embrace then channel their negative emotions.

Ultimately, their lightsabers were of a secondary importance compared to their armour, artistic masterworks threaded with Cortosis and modeled after creatures associated with Jensaarai philosophy, and which they attuned to as a Jedi might their Kyber Crystal. This led to a strange relationship with certain Outer Rim Mandalorian conclaves, and alternative rivalries/kinships with their armourers.

Never a large sect to start off with, the Jensaarai would ultimately fall victim to the Empire, their temple complex on Susevfi subject to a grinding siege and orbital bombardment saw the temple glassed, its leader and members slaughtered, the death of Jedi Master Ranik Solusar who'd taken refuge with them following Order 66, and the induction of his son Kam into the Inquisition.

What follows is a series of excerpts from the novel I, Jedi by Michael A. Stackpole:

The lightsaber, while an elegant and deadly weapon, was not that complex. Getting the parts to put one together was not difficult at all. To serve as the hilt, for example, I salvaged the throttle assembly and handlebar tube from a junked speeder bike. 

(...) I got the dimetris circuitry for the activation loop from an old capital-ship-grade ion cannon fire initiation controller (...) The recharger port and wiring came from a comlink. A milled down Tri-fighter laser flashback suppressor became the parabolic, high-energy flux aperture to stabilize the blade and I pulled the dynoric laser feed line from the same broken laser cannon to act as the superconductor for energy transference from the power cell to the blade. 

Buttons and switches were easy to find, and dear old Admiral Tavira, with her gift of the brandy decanter and snifters, provided me all the jewels I needed to make half a dozen lightsabers.

(...) Before I could figure out how to put Tavira off for another month, Elegos decoded an annotation to the instructions for constructing lightsabers. It turned out that during the Clone Wars, Jedi Masters developed a way to create a lightsaber in two days. Nejaa included this method, noting it was to be used only in times of pressing need, but not in haste. I read it over and felt a certain peace settle upon me. I knew the words had not been written for me, but they sank deep into my core. Urgency without panic, action without thoughtlessness.

(...) I sat in the middle of the floor, with the parts for the blade laid out in a semicircle around me. I studied each one and used the Force to enfold it and take a sense of it into myself. My hands would fit the pieces together, but I wanted the parts to mesh as if they had been grown together. The lightsaber would be more than just a jumble of hardware, and to make it I had to see the parts as belonging together.

I fitted the activation button into its place on the handlebar shaft and snapped the connectors into the right spots on the dimetris circuit board. 

I worked that into the shaft itself, then inserted a strip of shielding to protect it from even the slightest leakage from the superconductor. Next I snapped into place the gemstones I was using to focus and define the blade. At the center, to work as my continuous energy lens, I used the Durindfire. That same stone gave my grandfather’s blade its distinctive silver sheen. 

I used a diamond and an emerald in the other two slots. I wasn’t certain what I would get in the way of color tints from the emerald, and with the diamond I hoped for a coruscation effect.

Onto the end of the hilt where the blade would appear I screwed the high-energy flux aperture. It would carry a negative charge which would stabilize the positively charged blade and provide it a solid base without allowing it to eat its way back through to my hands. 

(...)  I clipped the discharged energy cell in place, then connected the leads to the recharging socket. 

I screwed the recharging socket into the bottom of the hilt, but didn’t fasten on the handlebar’s original butt cap that would protect it because I needed to charge the power cell for the very first time. 

In what amounts to just a handful of pages in a singular book, Stackpole so vividly describes not only the physical process of constructing a lightsaber, but the spiritual essence of what it means to be a Jedi, in its purest form: 

(...) With my finger poised on the transformer button that would start the energy flowing, I drew in a deep breath and lowered myself into a trance. I knew that manipulating matter sufficiently to meld the part and forge the weapon would have been all but impossible for anyone but a Jedi Master like Yoda, but doing just that as part of the construction of a lightsaber had been studied and ritualized so even a student could manage it. It was very much a lost art, a link to a past that had been all but wiped out, and by performing it I completed my inheritance of my Jedi legacy. 

I hit the button, allowing the slow trickle of energy to fill the battery. I opened myself to the Force and with the hand I had touching the lightsaber’s hilt, I bathed the lightsaber with the Force. As I did so subtle transformations took place in the weapon. Elemental bonds shifted allowing more and more energy to flow into the cell and throughout the weapon. I was not certain how the changes were being made, but I knew that at the same time as they were being made in the lightsaber, they were being made in me as well. 

In becoming a conduit for the Force for this purpose, the final integration of the people I’d been occurred. The fusion became the person I would be forever after. I was still a pilot: a little bit arrogant, with a healthy ego and a willingness to tackle difficult missions. I was still CorSec: an investigator and a buffer between the innocents in the galaxy and the slime that would consume them.

And I was Jedi. I was heir to a tradition that extended back tens of thousands of years. Jedi had been the foundation of stability in the galaxy. They had always opposed those who reveled in evil and sought power for the sake of power. People like Exar Kun and Palpatine, Darth Vader and Thrawn, Isard and Tavira; these were the plagues on society that the Jedi cured. In the absence of Jedi, evil thrived. 

In the presence of just one Jedi, evil evaporated. 

Just as with the lightsaber, the changes being made in me were not without cost. What the Force allowed me to do also conferred upon me great burdens. To act without forethought and due deliberation was no longer possible. I had to be very certain of what I was doing, for a single misstep could be a disaster. While I knew I would make mistakes, I had to do everything I could to minimize their impact. It was not enough to do the greatest good for the greatest number, I had to do the best for everyone. 

There was no walking away from the new responsibility I accepted. Like my grandfather I might well choose when and where to reveal who and what I was, but there was no forgetting, no leaving that responsibility and the office. My commitment to others had to be total and complete. I was an agent of life every day, every hour, every second; for as long as I lived, and then some.

(...) I nodded and brandished the lightsaber. I punched the button under my thumb, giving birth to the silver blade 133 centimeters in length. 

“A lightsaber and robes. Looks like a little justice has arrived on Courkrus, and it’s about time.”

This is what almost everybody gets wrong about the Jedi - never mind the Prequels, the Sequels, or the vast majority of EU novels - the Jedi are an absolute good. They are life. They bring order to chaos. Every moment of their lives is spent, their spirits grappling against the disorder of a universe torn between Dark and Light.

If you haven’t read I, Jedi, you might consider picking it up.

As I’m sure many of you have already deduced, the accompanying images are of my own personal Corran Horn lightsaber. I’ve just recently finished a complete overhaul and rebuild of it, and I just had to show it off. I’ll be posting more info & pics about it soon, but I want to address one key aspect of saber building here, as it pertains directly to my own personal journey and growth.

This portion of the book holds incredible significance for me; it allows me to imagine, however briefly, that I’m undertaking a similar spiritual ritual, imbuing my own sabers with the same energy that Stackpole so flawlessly describes here. It’s so rare to feel so seen and be so moved by a piece of fiction. For the discerning Sabersmith, it’s very much like Corran says: 

I knew the words had not been written for me, but they sank deep into my core.

The Jensaarai were a group of Force-sensitives whose order arose during the Clone Wars. Founded by Anzati Jedi Knight Nikkos Tyris, whose research into the history of the Sith suggested that the Jedi stole Sith teachings before exiling them, the Jensaarai walked the balanced line between the light side and the dark side. They were disciplined like the Jedi, with an understanding of the power of rage.

Source: Threats of the Galaxy (Art: Gonzalo Flores; 2008)

First Appearance: I, Jedi (1998)

This is something I wanted to do for a long time : explaining my personal view on the Force, Sith, Jedi etc. Please keep in mind that it is just an opinion and I do not want to spread a truth.

So I’ve seen a lot of people reducing star wars characters as darksiders = Sith or vilain = Sith. I have to say that I do not agree. First, there are a lot of villains being not Force sensitive. For instance : Ysard, Tarkin, Krennic for the new canon... And I have a very personal view on the Sith order that can be completely disputable. I do not believe that there is one Sith order but plenty of visions of the Sith. The one we refer to is generally Bane’s order with the rule of the Two. But before that, we have a complete genealogy of Sith order, each one having a different vision from the previous ones. I do believe that Plagueis is the last one to truly "respect" Bane’s order. I do not think Palpatine and Vader as Sith but more as Dark side users and a Dark Jedi for Vader. Both broke the rule of the Two and carry the Sith legacy only in name. I also do not see the Sith’s view of the Force as only evil and in order to explain that, I’ll explain my view on the Dark Side.

In a certain way, you can compare the idea of a dark and light side and a balance with the Freudian theory of « id », « ego » and « superego ». The first one is the dark side, the place where our darkest thoughts are. The second one is the balance and the third one the light side, trying its best to fit in. With all this, I do not believe that the Dark side is only full of threatening things. Once you master your fears or feelings, you can use the Force from all its aspects. That’s why the idea of the unifying force and Jacen and Vergere’s philosophy are the one that make the more sense to me.

Finally, I think the Sith philosophy should be taught in a dreamy alternative universe. Because if you want to understand fully this entity, you have to master it from all its sides. Once again, we tend to believe light side = Jedi = only light side force users. But the Jedi are one embodiment of the light side. They love by strict rules that maybe should be lifted. To me, the Force is a circle with black on the edges and white on the center. The middle is grey. The dark side is not just being a Sith being power hungry. It can also represent depression, grief, sadness… For instance, Jacen’s Dark Side would have been a very deep depression and PTSD after the Embrace of pain and the end of the war. Jaina’s dark side is anger, the anger she felt because she couldn’t save the people she loved.

I agree with Jacen when he says that the Force is more than just a tool. The Force represents life and humankind in general. And that’s why you have so many philosophies and views, because you have so many different persons in the world. The idea of the Force can be compared to some Platonic ideas. For instance, le ciel des idées where one’s spirit elevates itself can be an interpretation that of the Force. The notion of Beauty (το καλον) can also be an aspect of the Force. An ideal that one seek their entire life. But the idea of the Dark Side / Dark Side users being evil is something that strikes me as reductive. That’s why my «favourite» Force philosophy is the Jensaarai’s one. You use every aspect of the Force (Dark & Light side and the Balance), the Sith’s passion and the Jedi’s harmony. It’s a balance between your passions (in the philosophical sense, sufferings) and our ideals.

"Top 10 Force Organizations Besides Jedi and Sith #StarWarsLegends"

Credit to:  Kos Julodo

Summary: In Legends, there are many Force user organizations besides the popular Jedi and Sith. They are as follows:

1) Witches of Dathomir

2) Jensaarai (Seekers of the Hidden Truth, often confused as Gray Jedi)

3) Prophets/Church of the Dark Side (don’t get this confused with the Church of the Force, Lor San Tekka people. They’re not the same).

4) The Gand Findsmen (Use the Force to search for anyone or relics; they’ve developed a Force sensitive martial arts system where they can punch holes in storm-trooper armor)

5)  The Motukai (Martial artist force user group; they could be the inspiration for the Guardians of the Whills, Chirrut Imwe from Rogue One)

6) The Shapers of Krovar (descendants of Sith refugees; they’re basically Avatar: Last Airbender people in Space; they possess pyrokinesis and can summon water)

7) The Zeisan-Sha (abandoned by the Jedi; known for wielding sharp disc blades instead of lightsabers...imagine a flying disc blade beheading a stormtrooper).

8) The Nuns of Gaavaroon (Gamorean nuns who used the force to heal people and perform charitable acts)

9) The Aing Ting Monks (a race of force sensitive beings who happened to be xenophobic and isolationist)

As I mentioned earlier, I said that Danni’s family was from the Hapes Consortium. They were a powerful merchant family on Archais.

Danni’s great grand parents were named Duena and Deskar. They were merchants but rose high in the society and eventually grew a small fortune.

Duena and Deskar had two children : Darin who later became a Jensaarai and Dia, one year younger than Darin.

Ni’Korish, Ta’a Chume’s mother, encouraged riots against the Force Sensitive and Darin had to hide his powers. He then fled the Hapan system with his sister and her boyfriend to go to Commenor.

Dia stayed with her boyfriend there, whose name was Gerd Moross. She later married him and had a girl, Deena Quee.

Darin went on Tynna and he met there Ashayia Ardross, Nikkos Tyris’ wife. She took him as her Jensaarai apprentice on Suarbi.

Years later, he himself took an apprentice, Tih’landra Raysunn, after becoming a Jensaarai Defender. They were really close to each other until - 19 bby.

During one of his mission, he learned a prophecy about a young girl named Danni, no yet born. He discovered she was part of his family and secretly learned the way of the Force to be able to contact her. He also learned about his own fate and his death.

He died in - 19 bby after Palpatine ordered the execution of all force users, including the Jensaarai. He was beheaded while trying to save some children.

On Commenor, Dia learned she was pregnant and gave birth to her daughter Deena. Deena grew up and studied to become an astrophysicist. At university, she met Caine Britt, a young bureaucrat who worked in the Empire Administration.

They married and both were very young at the time. Danni was born only one year after the wedding. The first three years of Danni’s childhood were happy but soon the union deteriorated.

Deena and Cairne were not happy together, as the excitement of youth slowly began to fade. They divorced on a mutual accord.

Surprisingly, Danni took the separation very well. She lived with her mother but often visited her father who eventually had a new family.

Around 9/10 aby, Tih’landra Raysunn came to visit Deena and Danni. She went there with the memory of Darin and told Danni of her ancestry and predicted she would become a great hero and restore the Jensaarai order.

Tih’landra Raysunn died in 11 aby, sacrificing herself to prevent Leonia Tavira from hurting anyone again. The news of her death saddened Deena and her daughter a lot.

When Danni finally accepted her fate as a Jensaarai heir, she met the ghost of her great uncle who confided her his pride and joy to finally meet her.